Alabama Craft Beer Week kicks off with Magic City Brewfest; events planned for south Alabama

Alabama Beer Week, a celebration of craft beer throughout the state, starts today with the first day of the Magic City Brewfest at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham. The event, which is put on by the grassroots organization Free The Hops, will feature more than 60 different Alabama-brewed beers among the more than 200 selections they'll have available. For more information, check out the latest story from the Birmingham News.

Beer Week events are planned throughout Lower Alabama for next week, starting Sunday with a craft beer tasting at Hayley's Bar on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile. Michigan's Bell's Brewing Company will be this week's featured brewery. Free tastings are from 4-6 p.m., with discounts on Bell's beer all evening after that. Complementary food will be provided to pair with each beer, according Hayley's Facebook page.

Dave Brocker, East Coast sales representative for Colorado's Tommyknocker Brewery, will be on hand Tuesday night to talk beer from 7:30-9 p.m. at Hopjack's Pizza Kitchen and Taproom. No deals are listed, but Hopjack's has an impressive selection of beers on their 50 taps. Just make sure to ask for your beer in a room-temperature glass if you want to taste it.

Tommyknocker is also the featured brewery at the OK Bicycle Shop on Tuesday night, where they're planning a "tap takeover" at the bar, with Hopstrike!, Butthead Bock and Imperial Nut Brown Ale on tap. It's a bit of a stretch to call this a tap takeover — those usually involve every tap in the joint pouring beer from one brewery, and the Bike Shop has a lot more than three taps. No specials on the beer have been advertised.

Also on Tuesday, True Midtown Kitchen will be offering a $3 special on all Alabama beers, which include five total offerings between Back Forty Beer Company and Good People Brewing Company.

On Wednesday, the local chapter of Free The Hops will be holding its monthly meeting at The Bar in downtown Mobile at 7 p.m., which coincides with The Bar's "Gnome Week" kickoff event. From June 6-9, different beers from Belgium's La Chouffe brewery will be pouring at the bar, and patrons are encouraged to dress like gnomes for the festivities.

Two different tap takeovers highlight Thursday's Beer Week events. At Alchemy Tavern in downtown Mobile, al six taps will be pouring Alabama-brewed beer from Back Forty and Good People. They'll also be serving up free beer-infused food and live music. All for no cover. Over in the Oakleigh Garden District, Atlanta's SweetWater Brewing Co. will be taking over the taps at Callaghan's Irish Social Club to kick off their "Save the Mobile Bay" fundraising campaign.

On Friday, Hopjacks will be offering $1 discounts on all Alabama beers on tap.

It all wraps up Saturday, June 9, with the Top of the Hops Beer Festival at The Wharf in Orange Beach. Tickets are still on sale for the event, and Friday's Groupon deal makes it even more tempting if you're on the fence.